1. The-XX: Coexist
September 11th, XL
I’m not quite sure why, but the XX’s fragile, incredibly beautiful self-titled debut always felt like a one-off to me. I’m not sure whether it was their seemingly reclusive personalities, vocalist Romy Madley Croft threats of never making another record, producer Jamie XX’s bubbling solo career, or the true distinctiveness of the album, but I always kinda assumed that it would the only real statement we’d get from the shadowy London trio. Earlier this year, we started to hear rumblings about a new album, and those rumors were actualized by their performance at this year’s Primavera. Though I tried to avoid it, it would have taken Hannibal Lecter-style restraints to keep me from pouring over the low-quality crowd footage that popped up on YouTube. Unless the songs sound way better on someone’s iPhone than they do in the studio, that second statement is gonna be one to remember.
Check out its lead single, “Angels.”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/53400606″ iframe=”true” /]
2. The-Dream: Love IV MMXII
August 14th, DefJam
From the outside looking in, it sounds like this record has been a titanic struggle for the buoyant ATLian. It was originally scheduled for release last year, and though he knocked the pre-release singles out of the park (particularly the Prince-tastic “Fuck My Brains Out”), DefJam pushed the album back. As he is wont to do, Nash got his knickers in a twist. He attacked DefJam in the media, threatened to retire, released an incredible free album (1977) to piss the label off, and shelved Love IV indefinitely. At some point, cooler heads prevailed, and we finally have a release date that looks solid. Now, I won’t believe in the release date until I hold the record in my hot little hands, but I have no problem believing that Love IV will live up to the lofty standards of its predecessors, thanks to the three songs we’ve heard so far: the trademark, sizzling lead single “ROC,” the G-Funk-inspired “Dope Bitch,” and the moody, mid-tempo ballad “Kill the Lights.”
“Dope Bitch” (f/ Pusha T)
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/48774841″ iframe=”true” /]
3. How to Dress Well: Total Loss
September/October, Acéphale
Those who have read me for a while know how much love I have for Chicago-based, falsetto merchant Tom Krell. For those who haven’t, let me make this brief. Krell’s lo-fi, bedroom R&B debut, Love Remains, was the best album of 2010. Tiptoeing the line between esoteric and accesible, Krell’s music is as ambient as it is streamlined, as challenging as it is immediate, as intellectual as it is visceral. This is radio R&B with a PhD in philosophy — something that is as fun to dance to as it is to think about. It may sound like I’m overselling it, but I’m not. It’s really that good, and only the folks who are willing to look closer will get to experience it.
Lead Single “Ocean Floor For Everything”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/46780384″ iframe=”true” /]
4. Jens Lekman: I Know What Love Isn’t
September 4th, Secretly Canadian
When you really look at it, the velvet-voiced Jens Lekman is the ideal candidate to write a break-up record. On one hand, he comes off as a relentlessly optimistic dreamer (see: “If You Ever Need a Stranger,” “So This Guy At My Office”), the musical equivalent of spending hours typing “adorable baby penguins” into a Google image search. However, he is also very adept at writing incredibly honest, articulate songs about finding beauty in the minutiae of his real life (“You Put Your Arms Around Me,” “A Man Walks Into A Bar”). Anybody who has ever gone through a difficult break-up knows that you end up spending a huge amount of time reflecting on what happened (realist Jens) and thinking about what it means in the big picture of your life (dreamer Jens). Either way, it’s been five years since his exquisite Night Falls over Kortedala hit shelves, and though I wouldn’t wish heartbreak on anybody, it’ll be fascinating to see Jens reflects on it.
Lead Single “The End of the World Is Bigger Than Love”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/4267201″ iframe=”true” /]
5. Animal Collective: Centipede Hz
September 4th, Domino
The members of Brooklyn’s Animal Collective could be forgiven for deciding that they hit their creative zenith with 2009’s gargantuan Merriweather Post Pavilion. In many ways, it felt like a celebratory bookend for one of modern music’s most fascinating bands — like all those years of exploration had finally paid off in 11 triumphant, impeccable tracks. Though I wouldn’t say it’s their best album (it’s Feels for me), it feels like their most actualized effort, like the one that would play in the credits as they rode off into the sunset at the conclusion of their epic adventure movie. But this is Animal Collective, and that’s not how they work. After a couple of excellent solo albums (Avey Tare’s Down There and Panda Bear’s Tomboy) and some time away, the feral fiends are back to flip the world back on it’s head, and I can’t wait to see where they take it next.
Pre-release single, “Gotham”
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/45162528″ iframe=”true” /]
